Plots and Quests
Each set of sessions is detailed here, grouped by theme. New World: the Beginning Here we meet the merry characters of our adventuring party: Empyron, the human wizard; Harne, the dwarf fighter; Camulus, the goliath barbarian; Trym, the halfling sorcerer; Alexander, the human cleric/bard; and Errador, the Eladrin Rogue. They set sail on the Peregrine, a stout ship, traveling from Harkin (a port city in Undor) to the New World. Under Captain Wyatt, the crew arrives safely on land within a scant period of time. They immediately begin to set up provisions for the subsequent shiploads of people that will be arriving, and the adventurers set out to discover what lies beyond the new colony's borders. New World: Meeting the Natives The first task of the adventuring group is to scout around the area, seeking supplies (especially water) and to get the lay of the new land. Little did they know that others had already populated the land long ago; the adventurers stumble upon one of these tribes, the Black Ravens, as they journeyed south of the colony. The Black Ravens, initially suspicious of these potential "spies", allow them into the village to consult with their leader, Crowesis, and their lead warrior, Zera. They exchange pleasantries and propose various new ideas to facilitate communication and peace between the colony and the natives; unfortunately, the tribe's rampant necromantic practices prove to be a sticking point. Empyron manages to win Alexander over to the side of True Neutral, however temporarily, and the two groups manage to make peace via exchange of information and the teaching of blacksmithing. Immediately, our adventurers rush back to the colony to give the good news to Captain Wyatt, who doesn't seem impressed. Instead, he informs the group that the colony is rapidly running out of water, and that they as adventurers would be well suited to scouting out a source of water in the native lands. He sends them off into the forest again, and our adventurers grudgingly oblige. After defeating a pack of hungry wolves in the forest, the adventurers stumble upon another native tribe: the Gray Fangs. Led by the mighty druid Agantha, the Gray Fangs are a nature-loving tribe that strives to live in harmony with the land. The group immediately asks to see Agantha (via Alexander's supposedly prophetic vision); upon meeting the adventurers, Agantha is not pleased to learn that they have made a peace contract with sworn enemies--the Black Ravens! Immediately, the peace talks became more difficult, and Empyron the Diplomatic was hard pressed to persuade the tribe to consider their request--to meet the Water Spirit. The tribe sets a high price for taking them to this meeting--100gp, among other possible requests--and the group immediately begins to argue whether or not they should agree to pay the price. They eventually, grudgingly agree, and venture to meet The Water Spirit (patron of the Gray Fangs) with a new ritual scroll in hand. Our adventurers head deeper into the forest and set up at the sacred pool of the Divine Water Spirit. There, Alexander spiritedly performs the summoning ritual from the scroll, and the Water Spirit appears amid the rustling of Chex Mix and Kit Kat wrappers. They request assistance in the form of fresh water for the colony; the Water Spirit, pointedly trying to ignore the impertience of certain party members, offers to help in return for a favor: they must exterminate one of the native tribes. Alexander gets uncomfortable, as does Empyron; the group opts to break off negotiations and return to the colony--empty handed. The Great Rains When the adventuring party returns to the colony, they find another problem, one more pressing than the lack of water: the colony is being flooded by mysterious unending rains! Weary from their previous travels, the party opts to get some sleep and try to recover from their journey. Unfortunately, the flood problem won't wait: the mage from the Peregrine, Roddan, wakes the party and says something about ruins, and magic, and books...ZzzZzzzzz..... In the morning, the group wakes and unwillingly goes to inform Captain Wyatt of what transpired in their journey to the Gray Fangs and their Water Spirit. Before they can head out, Roddan appears to explain what he'd said the night before. Roddan explains that he was part of a scouting party that was doing mapping of the nearby ruins; as a mage, he was tempted by a leftover artifact that he'd found--a book of Lemurian magic lying on an altar. Upon finding a ritual that he thought would bring water, he cast it and involuntarily brought the floods. (He's not a full fledged wizard, nor did he understand the ritual.) Empyron pages through the book trying to get a grasp on the situation, but he can't read the runes. He pockets the tome, and the group ends up heading to the ruins to try and find further answers, or perhaps a translation of the tome Empyron holds. The adventurers encounter a flooded chamber; unwilling to take the armor check penalty, Camulus takes off his armor so that he can swim to the other side of the hallway leading into the dank water. Once on the other side, he finds a welcoming party: a band of vermin that appears to have taken refuge from the flood. Though unarmored, the goliath assists his party in defeating the enemy, and they make it to the other side of the flooded chamber. Mounds of ancient Lemurian tomes lie scattered around a library area (probably where Roddan obtained his), though no one can read enough of the text to figure out if any of the books hold what they need. Our adventurers opt to press forward after defeating the wolfen denizens of the library, and they find a proverbial fork in the road: a path that leads farther into the ancient chamber, and a path that leads to a barred door that is leaking water. After reinforcing the leaking door, they choose to go farther into the chamber, and the group comes upon a sacred clearing. Alexander steps boldly into the room to investigate the altar; the rest of the group joins him once it was determined that the room was empty. A set of double doors awaited the group at the other end of the sacred space; from the other side of the doors, chattering could be heard--in draconic. Alexander tells them that they are friends, and that the group comes in peace...would the newcomers believe him? The Kobold Wars A voice from the other side of the doors tells the group to put down their weapons, so that they could open the doors; after nearly everyone drops their weapons, the strangers open the doors. An armored kobold and guard drake greet them; further kobolds can be seen in the adjacent room. The kobolds don't appear happy to see them; Alexander uses his diplomatic might to try and convince them that the party is only looking for a ritual book--not new territory. He enters the kobolds' room alone (since none of the rest of the party is willing to drop -all- of their weapons, and parleys with their leader while inspecting for a hidden library entrance. The cleric finds a hidden trigger, which seems to annoy the kobolds to no end--and they attack the group! The spear-armed kobolds, however, are no match for the experienced party, and they easily defeat the lizard guards. Their leader, Grakk, submits fearfully as he acknowledges the mighty prowess of the victorious warriors. In exchange for mercifully sparing his life, Grakk agrees to give the adventurers information about himself, his tribe, and the surrounding lands. The group makes their way back to the front of the ruins, clutching a book in an oiled sack; Roddan excitedly asks after the contents of the book. He and Empyron sit down and study the ritual together for a couple of hours; after gleaning what he could from the text, the wizard casts the ritual, and the flooding rains stop. Under cover of the group cheering, Trym suddenly reappears out of the bushes. He seems rather shifty about his absence; the group doesn't press him about it though and instead sends Roddan back to the colony to inform Captain Wyatt that the flooding problem has been solved. Grakk is invited to check the remaining room in the ruins in exchange for a possible cut of any potential treasure (read: the group wants to keep an eye on him), and he suspiciously agrees. Apparently, kobolds don't swim well. They all head for the barred door (the only un-explored room in the ruins) with Grakk riding on Camulus' shoulders. Empyron makes a grand entrance by Magic Missile-ing the blocked door, and Trym joins him with a Chaos Bolt. The door shatters, creating an impromptu water slide (think medieval Hurricane Harbor). Inside, Errador "imports" ritual and alchemical components; the group, satisfied with their haul, heads back to the entrance once more. Trym, Errador, and Camulus go to escort Grakk back to his people, while Harne, Empyron, and Alexander leave for the colony. Harne, Empyron, and Alexander's return to town is uneventful; when they return, a group of Gray Fangs is talking with the indomitable Captain Wyatt. The captain accuses Empyron of causing the floods; the Gray Fangs simultaneously voice a complaint that the adventurers have angered the Divine Water Spirit. Without divulging the true troublemaker who caused the floods (*cough*Roddan*cough*), Empyron explains that the group found a set of Lemurian weather-controlling rituals in some local ruins. This greatly increases the suspicion and anger of Elnora and Lark, respectively the second in command and ranger representatives of the Gray Fangs. They inform the party that the Lemurians defied the gods and were punished for it, and that the Lemurian rituals in Empyron's possession should be destroyed. When the party refuses to give them over, they get even more angry. The wily wizard manages to convince them to share their river as a water source with the colony; the Gray Fangs doubtfully agree, bristling again when Captain Wyatt demands that the rituals be kept for possible future use. The natives leave grudgingly, but not poorer: Empyron repays them the 50 gold that the party owed. Once the tribe leaves, the Captain hosts the three adventurers privately in his quarters. The captain reminds them that, as citizens of the colony, they fall under his orders and jurisdiction. He commands Empyron to study the rituals in hopes of mastering them for further use to help the colony. They then move on to the topic of the cause of the flood. Cabot, the captain's aide, briefly joins them to consult about who might have cast the Lemurian ritual. The aide quickly returns with Roddan. After flailing around, Alexander finally manages to salvage the situation by saying that they didn't really know Roddan all that well, and that everything was just a misunderstanding. Empyron makes sure to emphasize that Roddan did in fact stop the floods; the captain opts to take this under consideration, and the three party members leave to study the ritual. The Black Ravens make an appearance in the colony to bring knowledge of local agriculture and flora. In exchange, Harne agrees to return with them to teach the tribe advanced blacksmithing and metallurgy. Before they can leave, however, a mob descends on the group and makes their displeasure with necromantic practices known. Alexander attempts to talk them down, invoking Bahamut and the "good" gods, but the unruly ringleaders attack anyway. The party embarks on a striker-less battle; the Controller (Empyron) ends up taking on a triple role as Striker, Defender, and Controller simultaneously. Alexander keeps Harne in reserve as a personal bodyguard as hilarity ensues. The Kobold Wars Part 2: Pre-Electric Boogaloo Meanwhile, Trym, Errador, and Camulus--the Three Strikers--are traipsing through the brushy outlands, seeking to return Grakk to his people. Grakk remarks that his tribe is much smaller now--still more than 8, though, since that is as high as the intelligent kobold can count--due to the adventurers killing most of them, but that this is okay. After all, the adventurers are now his strong allies. They explore what is left of the Skullcrusher tribe's hideout; however, not much is left due to the raids conducted on them by a rival tribe--the Reavers. The adventurers offer to help Grakk unite the other Kobold tribes against the Reavers; in return, Grakk comically offers to help the party take over the colony. The group stays in Grakk's quarters for the night, sleeping on straw and eating rations despite an offer of raw grub (hakuna matata!) for dinner. Empyron, meanwhile, ventures out to the beach, still studying and experimenting with the Lemurian weather ritual in hopes of creating water on demand for the colony. Alexander muses on the location of the other half of the party as well as his own prowess with direction and survival; he posits to Harne that they should start looking for three new "sword-swingers" (strikers), and mysteriously, Harne agrees with everything the cleric says (including being graceful and powerful). Alexander opts to go to the local church to speak with the priest of Moradin, called Mordecai. Mordecai initially doesn't take kindly to the cleric of Bahamut's alliance proposal, accusing him of allying with necromancers. Alexander waves that off, saying that judgement should be withheld until further information is gathered. Mordecai surprisingly agrees wholeheartedly to this, as well as the notion of putting an altar to Bahamut in his church in return for Harne's help in physically maintaining the building. On the other side, Grakk, Camulus, Errador, and Trym go to meet with the Mighty Trunks kobold tribe, the first in their efforts to unite against the Reavers. The Mighty Trunks are lead by the dominating Oakfoot; Grakk proposes that they face him in a duel and take control of the tribe. Camulus counters that they should instead bring Oakfoot a peace offering; unfortunately, they don't manage to find any fresh meat in the surrounding woods. This doesn't appear to be a problem, however, as the fast-talking Trym manages to catch Oakfoot's attention with the mention of treasure and raiding the Reavers. As proof of their alliance, the Mighty Trunks demand that the party of strikers kill a neighboring rival, the Mugwugger tribe. Only then will the Trunks trust them enough for an alliance. The Three Strikers agree. Upon reaching the lair of the Mugwuggers, the entire group (including Grakk and Oakfoot) plots to overthrow the leader of the tribe by involving Oakfoot in a victorious duel. The guards of the lair flee in fear, inciting chaos among their kindred as they raise an alarm. Our adventurers race into the main lair, putting Oakfoot in front so that he can challenge the leader of the Mugwuggers (Chieftain Nameless). The others eagerly spread out, and Trym continues to fantasize about becoming the King of the Kobolds. A battle ensues between the Three Strikers and a group of kobold Hurlers, Wyrmpriests, and Dragonshields; our adventurers are victorious, but at a price: Oakfoot goes down. Grakk rounds up the remaining Mugwuggers and integrates them into the Skullcrusher army, becoming their leader. He sends a couple of messengers to summon the other Skullcrushers and neighboring smaller tribes to join their army, so that they can take on the Reavers. The Three Strikers return to town after claiming their treasure vouchers and immediately begin working on base-building. Harne has gone over to the Black Ravens to teach them blacksmithing at this point, and a few of the Black Ravens have remained in town to teach the colonyfolk about native plants and agriculture. Alexander, meanwhile, has gone to Mordecai to inquire about the new arrivals from the Old World (Undor); Mordecai seems rather apathetic to the cleric's questions about the earlier attacks by Moridin's followers. He agrees, however, to speak to those followers about their behavior as long as Alexander in turn speaks to Harne about finishing construction of the church. The adventuring party opts to chip in some gold and have a house built for themselves. In the morning, the party returns to the water hole for the risky summoning of the Divine Water Spirit. The Spirit asks if they have considered her offer of assistance provided that they destroy another tribe; Empyron gleefully tells her of the civil war being fomented among the kobold tribes. There is a distinction made, however, between antagonism and actual destruction...the Spirit commends the party for their efforts thus far and makes them an offer: a water well for the colony to begin with, and a full blown spring upon completion of the destruction of the Reavers. The group agrees; they have a time limit of three weeks until the colony exceeds the amount of available water. Three weeks for full blown war! It takes the party a little while to decide where to dig the well in the colony (the Divine Water Spirit, after all, only provides the water for the well--not the well itself). Shanties are beginning to spring up around town; Harne and Camulus continue building the house and digging the well while Alexander "supervises" and Empyron studies the water ritual book. Trym spends his time looking for female halflings as well as healing potions from Camulus. Errador is likely off procuring new items from the natives (dyes, herbs, salves, etc) to sell in the group's new shop (which will soon become Vandelay Industries). Instead of finding female halflings, Trym finds exotic female elves (probably Eladrin) and tries to achieve the legendary halfling propensity for luck... Shortly afterward, a strange froglike creature appears in town; Empyron and Camulus go to investigate as the townspeople freak out. The soldiers (who captured the creature) explain that the creature had been found on the colony's ship, and that the creature claims the ship as his territory. The creature, something called a Grippli, thankfully speaks Common and explains that the soldiers had invaded his "kingdom" (the ship) and attacked him to steal it. The Grippli identifies himself as Jagged Coral, and that he comes from a nearby land. He claimed the massive "wooden island" (the ship) in the name of his king, Rockshore, in an effort to expand their territory. Empyron attempts to reason with Jagged Coral, but Captain Wyatt appears to be short of patience in that regard. He wants to execute Jagged Coral for his impudence; the adventurers feel this is a bit harsh and try to persuade the captain through Diplomacy and Intimidation to soften the sentence. They basically threaten to allow the colony to fall into lawlessness. Eventually, Captain Wyatt acquiesces, and the adventurers take Jagged Coral away; the creature guides them to his homeland, where they finally encounter the strangest natives yet: the amphibious Grippli. The Kobold Wars Part 3: Return of the Grippli We join the adventurers as they escort Jagged Coral back to the land of the Grippli for punishment by the king. (Errador stays behind to supervise the building of the house.) Rather than swimming, they take a boat over to the island and explain matters to Jagged Coral on the way over. Apparently, execution doesn't exist in the lore of the Grippli, but thievery does. Our adventurers learn a little of the history of the Grippli, and how they were freed from their existence living in a series of dark caves. Empyron names themselves as members of the Wyatt branch of the Undor tribe; Jagged Coral comments that they have a rather finicky king (Captain Wyatt). After a lesson in Grippli reproduction, they finally meet King Rockshore with a rather Fonz-like greeting. King Rockshore is a great king--the greatest king of the Grippli, some might say--who has a propensity for pearls and large buckets of fish. Empyron acts as the lead diplomat in this case, making the proposal to Rockshore of intercontinental trade. However, the king opts to first take care of a more important matter: the punishment of Jagged Coral. The poor amphibian is to be demoted to fisherman for at least a few weeks (clearly a hefty blow in the heavily class-oriented system of the Grippli) and has to perform light labor. Rockshore suggests that he should meet Wyatt; the group agrees that Wyatt and Rockshore deserve to meet each other. They then turn back to the matter of trade, discussing island-building technology, foodstuffs, and exploring the deep caves below the surface of the Grippli's island. Such a decision has to wait on the Elders, the adventuring team is told. They return to the mainland to plot their attack on the Reavers; Alexander is initially confused, but Trym, Empyron, and Camulus explain things to him, and he agrees to help stamp out the evil that is kobolds. The group gathers up a sizable army (allied with Grakk, of course) and marches to the mountain fortress of the Reavers. They opt to take a small part of their force and eliminate any scouting parties, while using the remainder of their force to make an assault against the main gates. Alexander plans to keep to his diplomacy, while the rest of the guys get their brute force ready. The Kobold Wars Part 4: Assault on the Reaver Stronghold The battle begins.....with a delay. Kobold vs. kobold action ensues, and the adventuring party experiences the wonders of fire pots and glue pots. Their army of DragonShields, Wyrm Priests, and Hurlers valiantly fights alongside Camulus, Errador, and Empyron on the front lines while Alexander encourages them from behind and translates the jabbering of the opposing army. Javelins rain down on both sides in large quantities as the battle rages...and salty glue pots abound. Alexander and Empyron mysteriously acquire shields to defend them from the flying objects, and they just as mysteriously disappear soon afterward. Javelins and glue pots, glue pots and javelins, with a couple more fire pots thrown in for variety...(sensing a theme here?) Dozens of kobolds are lost on either side, but the one who loses less men wins in the end, and so our adventurers press on towards the inner sanctum of the Reavers' stronghold. Incidentally, the third amendment of the US Constitution provides for the refusal to quarter foreign troops. Grakk is left on cleanup duty along with the remainder of the Skullcrushers, chasing away or incorporating the remaining Reavers left in the stronghold. The walls of the stronghold are painted in a beautiful spring paisley pattern depicting a mountain kingdom and a dwarven hero (apparently the Reavers had some fashion sense, and some skilled artisans). The adventurers find that the dwarven hero is holding what appears to be a removable amulet sunk deeply into the relief of the wall. While the group is examining this, the leader of the Reavers finally appears with his elite guard; another lengthy battle ensues as Harne vows to mow down the rest of the kobolds as he has before. The Kobold Wars Part 5: Cue the Victory Music Instead of the ubiquitous glue pots, this encounter involves cages of rats. Lots of lots of rats. (Think Indiana Jones, but rats instead of snakes.) Apparently, the Slingers are skilled at throwing their cages a great distance. Errador endeavors to export a large shipment of damage to the opposing tribesmen and succeeds--somewhat. Empyron blows up his Orb in a blaze of fire while Alexander condescends to "the barbarian" (Camulus). Back and forth, back and forth, the adventurers kill all but two of the opposing kobolds. The cleric offers them clemency in return for surrender, but the goliath insists that the prisoners pay for scratching his shield. Empyron remarks that killing them would violate the Gen-e'va Convention, but Camulus is in a battle rage. One of the kobolds offers to surrender, but the other continues to fight and launches a Flame Bolt at the angry goliath (irritating him further, if that was possible). The cowering kobold warrior runs behind Empyron as far away from the mini-battle as possible as Harne attacks the belligerent kobold mage. Some mage-on-mage action ensues as Empyron decides to pile on the attacking kobold sorcerer, killing it, and a giant explosion goes off at its death. The group deals with the kobold prisoner that surrendered, then turns to the amulet trapped in the Dwarven wall mural. They find treasure vouchers, experience vouchers, and plot hooks...and the amulet is glowing, Empyron finally notices. The mage takes the amulet, and it promptly stops glowing. Harne, meanwhile, inquires after Grakk and the other allied kobold tribes; it appears that Grakk is already shoring up support for his kingship, busily convincing the other tribes to join him. Alexander chastises the goliath for tricking him into assaulting the fortress, and Harne tells him cleric that he's just slow in the head. Empyron invites him to convert the survivors to the Church of Bahamut, but the apathetic cleric declines, providing healing services to the survivors. Grakk requests that the adventurers stick around for a couple of days to help the kobolds fortify and repair the fortress; everyone except Alexander agrees to stay, and eventually Alexander grudgingly agrees to stay for just a little while. Empyron crafts a crude crown for Grakk to wear as the new kobold king, and Alexander does a lengthy interpretive dance emulating the battle. Grakk begins work on his throne while the group finds another mural similar to the first one; this one depicts an amazingly hot Elven warrioress. A third mural shows a human warrior; both of these two new murals have recessed depressions in them that appear as if they held amulets, but no amulets are present in them. Errador pickpockets Empyron for the first amulet and puts it in the depressions; nothing happens. While exploring the fortress ruins further, they encounter some ancient writings on the domed ceiling of one of the chambers. Puzzling over this new discovery, they return to Grakk, who is busily building his kingdom. They ask him curiously what he will request of the Water Spirit, now that they have won. Empyron asks to accompany him to the Water Spirit; the new king agrees, dubbing the wizard his new Grand Vizier (Griknak in Kobold-ese). Fast forward to the meeting with the Divine Water Spirit... The Spirit asks if the party did as she asked--destroyed another tribe. The prisoner aside, they affirm that the Reavers are gone and won't be a problem any longer. The Water Spirit gives them a ritual that will allow them to summon 3 mighty wells in return for their service and leaves; Grakk demands to know where his water is. Empyron offers to fill the king's well himself (ostenibly, with yellow water)...they trek back to the fortress to finish the repairs and building. After a couple of days, when all their obligations have been settled, the party opts to finally head back to town, victorious. The Plot Thickens Part 1: The Best Laid Plans of Goliaths, Dwarves, Eladrin, and Men The episode begins with a Public Service Announcement: Drink with Caution. Ladies. The cleric has many plans once he returns to town; the first involves checking in on his fellow clerics, Mordecai and Ionii, to see how their churches are coming along and to set up a meeting with the more benevolent Church leaders; the second involves a meeting with Captain Wyatt regarding the looming water problem. Apparently the colony has already made a deal with the local tribes to divert the river in exchange for crops and goods in trade; however, this is a temporary solution at best. The cleric inquires after the new arrivals to town; they include a slave trader (Axegore), a merchant Prince (Thelonius), a blacksmith (Luxeon), a naturalist, a caravan trader, a lumber magnate (Lorric), and two large plantation owners (Lokoth and Falstaff). Meanwhile, Errador drinks away his inept technique in Intimidation with Camulus accompanying him. Harne spends his time in the tavern, trying to woo the girls. He ends up meeting a lawyer, Randoph Bellevue, Esquire; the gentleman is seeking a man named Alin Cerreto who disappeared from the Old World. He is disappointed, however, when the dwarf can't give him any information (beyond a little TMI regarding the cleric of Bahamut). Randolph explains that he's seeking Alin to settle an estate dispute, and for Harne to please contact him if any information is found. Commercial Break: Kit Kat, McDonalds, Coke Zero, Pepsi Max, Cadbury, Total, G2, and Haggis. The guys all return to Headquarters and catch each other up on the recent events that have affected them. Empyron, Errador, and Alexander head over to Falstaff's farm to negotiate for water; Camulus stays behind to watch the store (which, unfortunately, only has barrels of water in it). The barbarian has the pleasure of meeting the town's preeminent merchant: Thelonius. He snidely remarks on the capabilities of Vandelay Industries' importing/exporting abilities, and tells them not to bother competing with him. Camulus shoos him out, locking the store and going after the other guys to let them know what has happened. Harne has remained at Headquarters as well, resting (ostenibly from the tavern frivolities). The wizard, rogue, and cleric arrive at Falstaff's farm; Empyron begins with a diplomatic overture, buttering the farmer up before starting negotiations. He also sounds out Falstaff's terms with Thelonius, hoping to undercut the asinine merchant prince. The farmer has given his word to purchase water from Thelonius in return for some of his crops; however, he is willing to give our PCs a chance, as long as they are willing to give him a fair price. He agrees to Empyron casting a smaller well for him, with a future meeting to determine the fate of the larger well. They get 75gp for the effort, and the guys return to Headquarters for Alexander's Church leader meeting. The cleric of Bahamut begins the meeting with a lengthy soliloquy regarding the state of the legal representation of the Church, as well as the current state of cultural civilization as a whole...ZzzzZzzzzzz. He recommends that the Churches should have representatives on the ruling body of the colony, and has drawn up a lengthy charter ascribing an alliance to the benevolent congregations: that they should 1) preach respect and tolerance for other beliefs, 2) provide support to fellow Churches, 3) come to the aid of fellow houses if they are besieged by various agents. Harne accuses Alexander of trying to establish a theocracy, an accusation that the cleric doesn't refute. He wants all the Churches to have representation on the ruling council of the colony; Mordecai seems okay with things as proposed, but Ionii initially has her doubts. She agrees to consider the terms, while Mordecai signs the document. Alexander adjourns the meeting, while Empyron reminds them to keep the terms discreet. Meanwhile, at the Inn, Trym has a couple drinks and makes himself generally likeable while Camulus keeps an eye on the surrounds. When they go to pay for the drinks, they each notice that 5 gold is missing from their wallets! The two of them don't worry about this fact too much initially; Trym starts a card game and gambles a little bit of money, somehow managing to break even by the end of the game. Suddenly, Camulus notices a suspicious looking person near the exit snag a passerby's purse on his way out. He immediately sprints after the figure with Trym close behind; the sorcerer is rather stealthy and agile, while the barbarian simply shoves his way through the crowds. They finally catch up to the elven thief, who is casually pocketing an apple from a fruit stand. Camulus grabs him and turns him over to the colony's soldiers while Trym pickpockets the thief to get their gold back. They return to headquarters. Trym, upon his return, informs the group that there might be a thieves' guild in town; Camulus wants to go back to the captain to question the thief as well as bring up the water supply problem. Empyron wants to do a sort of blackmail on Thelonious to screw him over; the rest of the party doesn't seem to agree with this and says that they should just sell the wells directly to the colony and the captain. Either way, they all agree that circumventing any business dealings with Thelonious himself would be prudent. The idea of a stripper joint is floated as a business idea for the storefront, but Alexander quickly shoots it down. Food Break Trym offers to mind the storefront while the others go to talk to Lokoth, the other plantation owner. Initially suspicious of them, she asks about their dealings with her competitors and what they have to offer. Empyron assures her that they, too, are in this for the business side of things (profit), and they come to a mutual understanding before the haggling begins. The initial offer is higher than Falstaff's; 100 gold for the smaller well. Lokoth counters with 75 gold and first rights of refusal; Empyron finishes with 60 gold and no first rights, as advised by the rest of the party, and the deal is struck. Now both plantations have water wells to supply their needs. The Plot Thickens Part 2: Remember--Pillage, Then Burn The episode begins with a scream heard in the night (and a series of failed Perception checks). The group is asleep, resting from their escapes, when Harne hears a cry in the middle of the early dawn hours; he yells for the group to "wake it and shake it", and slides down the new and improved fire pole in the center of their headquarters. Once everyone is awake, they all rush towards the perceived source of the sound. A woman is at the scene, looking confused and stunned. She tells the adventurers that her house is on fire and that everyone is safe, but begs for them to help put out the fire. The woman, a barmaid in the local tavern, also tells them that strange creatures have been running about in the night, but that she didn't recognize them in the chaos. As soon as the creatures re-appear, everyone rolls initiative. It should be noted that Alexander is running around with his night mask on. The creatures turn out to be goblins--several goblins. However, it's a bit hard to see since the group mostly forgot to bring light sources (except for Alexander, who is the Radiant Cleric). Empyron saves the moment by casting Light, giving the group less of a disadvantage against their green-skinned foes. Immediately, a small cluster of archers prepares to rain down damage upon our team as they take their places; Camulus gets the privilege of taking the first shot. The mercenaries fight hard against the adventures with longswords, bows, and...curses. Food Break and Sponsor Promotion: Papa John's Pizza Yes, it turns out that the goblins brought a Hexer with them, and the group has serious trouble dealing with the curses being thrown around. Being blind, penalties to their own attacks, and bonuses to enemy attacks against them make life hard for our hardy fighters, but they manage to hang on time after time (despite being unable to hit the enemy at all due to dice failure). (The players are thoroughly enjoying their pizza out of game at this point.) Alexander asks the enemy why they have chosen to visit such malfeasance on the town, and Camulus fills the silence by remarking that he's bloodied. Of the goblins, only the commander responds, saying that they will take the town for their own. Harne doesn't take kindly to this and says as much while the cleric tends to the bloodied barbarian and notes the absence of Errador. The enemies beat on the Goliath, seeing him stagger and nearly go down, and Trym finally bloodies an enemy. Empyron tries to save his allies by casting Maze of Mirrors, to penalize the enemies' attacks, but unfortunately he can't stop the goblin Hexer from wreaking havoc upon the party with Vexing Cloud and Stinging Hex. Harne gets blinded, joining the Goliath in being cursed. Alexander tries to help by granting the boys saving throws, but sadly, dice failure prevails. Camulus tries to frantically boost his AC, but the enemies still manage to hit him despite the added strength. Harne tries to save against Asshole very peculiar and unique disease, but fails--again. The enemies begin to target the controller. Empyron drops his second signature spell (Sleep), but he doesn't manage to hit everyone. He does, however, manage to slow them, which can help the party. At this point, Ian M threw his dice in anger across the room--and rolled a natural 20. Poor Ian. Harne still can't save from being Blind. Camulus flails around, trying to hit something--anything--and the archers slowly begin to take serious damage. Alexander gives a boost to his allies' ability to hit the enemy, and things finally start to take a turn for the better. Empyron goes down under an arrow, screaming something about a grudge, and the others become re-energized to save their friend. Once the Hexer and Commander (Warlord) go down, the rest is easy; the adventurers attempt to take a prisoner from the group, despite Trym's protests that they should kill all the goblins. Camulus is given the privilege of interrogating the prisoner with a greataxe, and manages to get some information about the Goblin Hulk boat. Water and Light Part 1: Running Errands Empyron begins by forming a new grudge against the goblin captain. Harne has gone off to teach the Black Ravens blacksmithing and metal working, Camulus has finished interrogating the prisoner, and Trym has disappeared mysteriously. After ensuring their prisoner is still secure, the group splits to take care of errands. First we join Errador and Camulus in Besser's tavern; we learn that the barmaid from the previous episode is named Kinit. Breakfast is being served to the commoners; the Eladrin and Goliath break their fast and observe the citizens inside. Empyron goes to see Falstaff, the plantation owner. The wizard begins by giving compliment to the farmer, asking about the well that was given to him the day previous and remarking on his negotiations with Lokath. Falstaff looks knowing at this; he is well acquainted with her mannerisms and personality. However, he quickly notes that the adventuring party is playing one side off the other and not telling the whole truth; this causes distrust and suspicion on the farmer's part. The two of them begin discussions of ethical business practices, off at 15:09 of podcast